Say Goodbye To Coloring Your Hair With Messy Box Dye

As hair care products and styling tools continually evolve, one aspect of the industry has more or less stayed the same — namely, the technology and application of box dyeing your hair. But L’Oréal is finally changing that and revolutionizing the at-home touch-up game with its forthcoming innovation, the Colorsonic.

The L’Oreal Colorsonic is a one-handed wand that basically does everything for you, from mixing the color to applying it evenly throughout your hair through a brushing motion, taking the fuss (and subsequent mess) out of dyeing your own hair. L’Oreal, the brand that actually created the first at-home hair dye in 1907, wanted to reinvent the at-home hair coloring process for modern consumers — a beauty practice many consumers took up during the lockdown when salons closed. “If you were to go to a supermarket in the ’70s and compare it to now, you would see boxed color that looks very similar in terms of application,” Guive Balooch, global vice president of L’Oréal Technology Incubator, tells Bustle. And so it unveiled its answer to the outdated beauty category at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) just this month.

With the Colorsonic, a technology that’s been in production for seven years, you’re essentially combing your hair while the gadget infuses your strands with dye. Here’s how it works: The wand houses a cartridge that contains the dye before it’s mixed — aka the colorant and developer (which shouldn’t be combined until you’re ready to apply anyway). The device then combines the two components, dispensing the exact required amount of each as it mixes, then disburses the color onto your hair via bristles as you brush it through. There’s no need to repeat the process more than once per section, as the bristles oscillate at 300 times per minute, which ensures an even application. Once you’ve combed through each section, simply wait five minutes and rinse your hair — and you’re done. Look at it like this: If you can brush your hair, you can color it with the Colorsonic.

The digital technology that accompanies the product is cutting edge, too: The Colorsonic can be used in conjunction with L’Oréal’s AI-based diagnostic tool, Coloright, which acts as an in-home color specialist. It allows users to test shades on their hair in real-time as well as analyze their current color, which allows the platform to then provide personalized color cartridges — or “recipes” — that match the user’s desired look (there are over 1,500 custom possibilities).

L’Oreal’s innovation was designed with sustainability in mind. The formula cartridge is reusable and is made from completely recycled material from the brand’s manufacturing plants. There’s also no need for the single-use tools — like gloves — involved in traditional box dyeing. Overall, by opting to use the Colorsonic, you’re using a total of 54% less plastic than you would in other at-home coloring kits.

The only downside? You’ll have to wait to get your hands on the device. The Colorsonic will be available for purchase in 2023 — but, considering it’s a 2022 innovation awards honoree, it’ll be well worth it.